No Country for Young Men: Contemporary Greek Art in Times of Crisis, Centre for Fine Art, Brussels

BOZAR presents this new and exciting exhibition which brings together the work of 32 contemporary Greek artists. Running until 3 August, every artists’ work explores the impact of the economic crisis and how it has effect their country. A new, insiders look on what is happening in Greece today.

Katerina Gregos, the curator of the Centre for Fine Arts, has often focused on subjects such as democracy, politics, the economy and human rights. However, No Country for Young Men, is set to be the most significant exhibition of contemporary art for 10 years outside of Greece and the first of its kind on the crisis that is sweeping the country. This show looks at the abstract nature of economic figures and zooms in on the humanitarian and social dimension that the crisis has created. Gregos aims to question the one-dimensional perception of the crisis in Greece created by the stereotypical representations conveyed by the media. No Country for Young Men explores the state of affairs in Greece today, complicating the question of the crisis and shedding light on how it has affected the Greek people, institutions, landscape and environment, as well as artistic production. This project not only reflects the social and economic reality of the crisis, but also focuses on small initiatives and collectives that have sprung up as a reaction to the hardship; manifesting in a creative resistance and testifying to the power of artistic imagination.

32 different artists from different generations have been selected to exhibit their pieces in this exhibition. The work presented is not newly produced, reflecting the artists’ engagement with this precarious moment for the country. The exhibition if lively and explosive, but also humorous and poetic, a visual patchwork that reflects Greece’s turbulent times. While this exhibition has a serious topic, according to Gregos, it strikes a positive note “There is always hope. In spite of the gravity of the events, the present moment offers a very significant opportunity to address our flaws, to re-invent the country and to imagine things differently. In this respect, the Greek crisis should not be seen as a deadlock but as an opportunity to rethink the future of the country.”

The exhibition, designed by Danae Gimalaki consists of architecture in the form of a labyrinth, visitors are able to move around a maze-like circuit with multiple choices. With a complex but easy journey, the viewers are going to be surrounded by art, start to finish. This maze of passage ways during the exhibition however, will be no easy feat to navigate. With dead ends, and sharp tunnel-like-wedges, the spaces act as a spatial metaphor for the nature of the Greek crisis: which aims to leave the viewer disorientated, much like the people of Greece.

No Country for Young Men: Contemporary Greek Art in Times of Crisis, Centre for Fine Art, Brussels until 3 August

For a further looks at the exhibition and the artists featured, please go to www.bozar.be

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